As San Francisco Ballet celebrates its 75th season, we look at some of the dancers who shaped the company's rich history. The company will celebrate its alumni with a reunion weekend Friday through March 16.

A native of Portland, Ore., Jacqueline Martin came to San Francisco as a young girl in 1935 with Willam Christensen, who had taken over the then San Francisco Opera Ballet's school. Martin quickly drew attention in classical roles, and when Willam Christensen staged America's first full-length "Swan Lake" in 1940, he chose her to dance Odette opposite Janet Reed's Odile. With little money and few men in the troupe as World War II began, performances decreased, and Martin left to marry and raise a family in Oregon. There she was director of the Portland Ballet School for 32 years and the founded the Portland Ballet Company. She retired at age 62.

A student of Willam Christensen's, Janet Sassoon made her San Francisco Ballet debut in 1943 at age 7, as a nymph in "Falstaff." She was stage-struck from the beginning, dancing small roles in "Coppélia" and "Giselle." At 16, she left to dance in Europe. She returned to San Francisco Ballet in the 1950s. After retiring from the stage, Sassoon ran the Academy of Ballet on Market Street. Now in demand as a coach, she travels the world staging ballets and teaching.

Virginia Johnson first danced with San Francisco Ballet in 1948, in Willam Christensen's production of "Nutcracker." It was the start of a lifelong association with the Christensen brothers. Johnson signed her first union contract with the company in 1952, making her among the first generation of dancers to work under Lew Christensen's directorship. She continued performing with the company until 1972, when she retired from the stage and became the company's ballet mistress. A meticulous archivist, Johnson notated the steps and details of dozens of Lew Christensen's ballets, which she has since staged for companies around the country.

Cynthia Gregory joined San Francisco Ballet in 1961, at age 15. She understudied Lew Christensen's "Original Sin," a collaboration with the Modern Jazz Quartet and poet Kenneth Rexroth, and her first big role, in "Nutcracker." After a 31-year career that included decades at American Ballet Theatre, Gregory retired from performing in 1991. She joined the board of Career Transition for Dancers, which provides retraining for dancers after they retire. She is now working with the dancers of Ballet San Jose to prepare them for a production of Dennis Nahat's "Swan Lake."

Diana Meistrell

A veteran of New York City and Joffrey ballets, Diana Meistrell was lured back to the ballet stage by Bay Area choreographer John Pasqualetti after several years' hiatus. She joined San Francisco Ballet in 1978, and continued to dance for three years. After leaving the company, Meistrell graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in social sciences and a minor in biochemistry, worked in telecommunications and the IT industry for many years and, after 9/11, worked with the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan.

Brought to the company in 1985 by Helgi Tomasson, Simon Dow danced roles that ranged from princes to clowns, from classical to contemporary in his four years with the company. After San Francisco Ballet, Dow performed as a principal dancer with Boston Ballet and then as a guest artist. Upon retiring from the stage, he took over the Milwaukee Ballet and then the West Australian Ballet, which he led until last year. Now a freelance choreographer and a highly regarded teacher, Dow has created more than 50 works, including five full-length ballets. His next project is a work commissioned by the Shanghai Ballet.

Mikko Nissinen

Finnish-born Mikko Nissinen joined the company in 1987, already knowing that he eventually wanted to become an artistic director. After retiring from San Francisco Ballet in 1996, he directed Marin Ballet for two years, then led the Alberta Ballet in Calgary, Canada. In 2001, Nissinen took the helm at Boston Ballet, where he also oversees the largest ballet school in North America.

Caroline Loyola

After dancing with Oregon Ballet Theatre and Colorado Ballet, Brazilian Caroline Loyola says she knew that San Francisco Ballet would be the last company in which she would dance. After completing a degree with the Liberal Education for Arts Professionals program at St. Mary's College in 2004, she retired from San Francisco Ballet and earned a master's degree in international relations from San Francisco State in 2006, the same year her daughter was born.